Carefully Taught

Living in the Spirit

Actors John Kerr and France Nuyen in a scene from the 1958 film South Pacific. The interracial romance between the onstage pair unsettled some audiences.

June 17, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Galatians 3:23-29

Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.

I cannot read this portion of scripture without hearing in my head – You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught from the musical South Pacific by Rodgers & Hammerstein. Here are the first three verses:

You’ve got to be taught to hate and fear,
You’ve got to be taught from year to year,
It’s got to be drummed in your dear little ear—
You’ve got to be carefully taught!

You’ve got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a different shade—
You’ve got to be carefully taught.

You’ve got to be taught before it’s too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate—
You’ve got to be carefully taught!
You’ve got to be carefully taught!*

Bigotry is becoming normal in our society today. The current popular target of our hate is turned toward people in the LGBTQIA2S+ community but it still lurks across all lines of differences. God created each of us in God’s image. Every time we have a flash of bigotry fly through our minds, we need to remember that—God created each of us in God’s image.

Prayer: Lord, help us not teach bigotry by our actions or our words and heal us from the bigotry we have been taught that lingers in our being. Amen.

*See at https://rodgersandhammerstein.com/song/south-pacific/youve-got-to-be-carefully-taught/

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.